Coupler for toy cars and releasing means



Filed NOWl l0, 1949 Nov. 13, 1951 c. K. EDwARDs ETAL i 2,574,630

COUPLER FOR TOY CARS ANDRELEASING MEANS 2 SHEETS-SHEET l ,ad 30 f3 Z3 )aL Z V 3 5* /l 2 .as

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COUPLER FOR TOY CARS AND RELEASING "MEANS Filed NOV. l0, 1949 I 2SHEETS-SHEET 2 v@gli nventors Gttotneg A Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNITEDSTATES [rnrsNaT OFFICE eoUPLEaFoR 'roYcAR-s AND RELEASINGS ClarenceK'LEdward'sand Lawrence D. Edwards.; Spokane, Wash..` ApplcationLNovember10, 19.49,. Serial-No.1 126,618' soinms. (o1. 21a- 212i This inventionrelates to couplers` for railway cars of the toy or model type and itisonefobject or the invention to provide cars i a toy railroad withcouplers or such formation that when cars are brought together couplerscarried by confronting ends of the cars will automatically engage eachother and prevent separation of the cars until the couplers areintentionally released.

Another object of the invention is to providea coupler 'which may havetilting movement transversely of a car to which it is securedand thusallow coupled cars to follow curves in a track Without their couplersbecoming accident-- ally. detached from each other.

` Another object ofthe invention is to provide av couplerhaving a jawwhich may be manually moved to a released position or automaticallyreleasedby action of. a member mounted at a selected place along, atrack.

Another object of the invention is to provide automatic couplerreleasing means consisting` of'a cam member which is normally in aninoperative position and is movable to an operative position by actionof an electrically energized member under control of a person operatinga toy train having, its cars equippedwith the improved couplers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coupler which is simpleinconstruction and movable to a released position by electricallycontrolled means which is also of' simpliiied construction.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying` drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showingl carsconnectedtby couplers' of theimprovedl construction.

Fig. 2"isv a horizontal sectional View upon an I enlarged'scale takenlongitudinally through the improved coupling.

'Fig 3"' is a longitudinal. sectional view taken vertically through thecoupler. Fig. 4" is a sectional view taken longitudinally through thedevice. for automatically: releasing,

couplers. Y Eig'. 5 is a top plan View of the lcoupler releasingdevice.

'lhatoy railroad has theusual track I and atrium-ber4 of cars 2 havingcouplers 3 at `their opposite ends and of a duplicate construction sovthat. either Vend of a car may be brought into engagement with eitherend of anothercar and.

connected therewith by interlocking engagement'of their couplers.

yThe'construction of the couplers..isillustrated-j inligures 2 and Bandreferring. to thesegures it will' be seen that the coupler has a casing4 which is open at its outer end and also alongfits bottom. The bottomof the casing or housing is closed by a bottom plate or wall 5-which tsflat. against lower edge faces of the side walls and-the inner end wallof thecasing andisheld in place byV nails 5 passed upwardly throughopenings in side edge portionsvof the plate and through openings 3formed in thickened portions 9 of the side walls of the' casing anddriven into the` bottom ofthe car to which the coupler is mounted. Itwillbeunderstood that if the cars are formed ofY metal, bolts may beused instead of nails tohold the bottom plate andthe casinga. boss I'IAstruck upwardly from a-plate I8. The plate or'liner I8 is of such widththat it ts snugly in the cas-ing and has its front end abutting astripor bar I9 extending across thel front endfoffthe casing along thebottomY of the opens ing 20 through which the shackle. I2 passes.` Itshould'be notedthat the shank is of consid-l erably less width than theopening 26 and therefore the shackle may havek transversepivotalmovement about the boss or pivot I'I` and allow cars to follow acurve in the track I without^causingthe couplings to become detachedfrein each other or wrenched loose from the cars. A socket 2| extendslongitudinally of the shank from the rear end thereof and into thissocket fits the front end of a helical spring -22which.ektendslongitudinally in the-casing and has itsrear end seated inthe socket II.

beyonda curve in a track.

Tongues or lips23 and 24 project diagonallyy from opposite sides of thehead I3 of the shackle I2 and at its side carrying the lip ofearA24-the'- head is .formed with ears 25. A jaw 26 has a bill` v2'Iextending transversely of the shackle and.A from this bill extends ashank 28 having. an eary 29 which ts between the ears 25 'andis'pivotal-V ly mountedybyeJv pin.: The shank 28fisalsoL r formed withazlip 3l engaged-byl an endportion 'ThisA spring yieldably holds theshackle in. axial? alignment with the casing and returns: it toI itsnormal position after coupled cars havepassed or arm 32 of a spring 33which is coiled about the pin and has its other arm 34 bearing againstthe shank I4 and causing the spring to have sufcient tension toyieldably hold the shackle in its normal position with its bill disposedtransversely of the head I3. The outer or front face of the bill iscurved, as shown in Figure 2, to form a cam surface 35 and at the outeror front end of the head is formed a transversely curved surface 36extending to ends of the lips 23 and 24. Therefore when cars equippedwith the improved couplers are brought together the bills of theirshackles may be temporarily moved to a position allowing the bills toengage behind each other, as indicated by dotted line to Figure 5, andas their rear or inner surfaces 31 are flat they will have suchengagement with each other that pull exerted upon the bills will notcause the jaws to separate when the coupled cars are in motion androlling along the track. Manual separation of the couplers isaccomplished by applying pressure to the lip 3i of one shackle in arearward direction, thereby swinging the jaw of this coupling to areleasing position.

Automatic releasing of the couplers is accomplished by means of a cammounted at a desired point along the track and movable into position forengagement by pins 38 extending downwardly from the bills of theshackles.

The cam 39 is a diamond shaped so that it tapers towards its oppositeends and consists of a portion struck upwardly from a strip or sheet 40formed of a resilient sheet metal. This strip 40 extends longitudinallyof the track midway the width thereof and is movably held in engagementwith a bar 4l by screws or bolts 42 which pass through slots 43 formedin the strip longitudinally thereof and are of such length that whenupward pressure is applied to the cam portion 39, the cam portion may beraised to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4. The tipsof the tapered ends of the cam 39 are exactly midway the width of thestrip 40 whereas the depending pins 3s of connected couplers are inoffset relation to each other transversely of the strip. Therefore whenconnected couplers pass over the cam the approached tip 44 of the camwill pass between the pins and engagement of inner side portions of thepins with the diverging side edges 4'5 of the cam will cause theshackles to be tilted outwardly away from each other and out ofintertting engagement with each other. Therefore the cars connected bythe couplers will be disconnected. After the cars have been uncoupledthe cam is allowed to resume its normal position fiat upon the bar 4|and cars may pass over it without being uncoupled. A solenoid 46 housedin a casing 47 is disposed under the bar 4| where it is secured byscrews or bolts 48, and from the center of the cam 39 extends adepending stem or rod 43 formed of non-conductive material and securedto the cam by a tack or equivalent fastener D. This stem or rod extendsdownwardly through the spool of the solenoid and at its lower endcarries a metal core 5I for the solenoid. The core is normally in thedepending well 52 of the casing 41 but when the solenoid is energizedthe core is drawn upwardly and the rod 49 moves with it so that the camis shifted upwardly to an operative position in which it may be engagedby the pins 38 of the couplers of connected cars and cause the cars tobe released. Current is supplied to the solenoid by wires 53 and 54connected with a battery or other source of electrical energy 55 andinterposed inthe wire-53 is a switch 56. When 4 the switch is closed thecam will be moved to its operative position and when the switch is openthe cam is in its lowered or inoperative position. Therefore a personoperating a train of cars moving along the track may apply pressure tothe switch to close it and cause couplers of connected cars to bereleased and then remove pressure from the switch so that the switchwill open and allow other connected cars to pass over the cam withoutbeing uncoupled. When the train of cars is brought to a stop thecouplers may be manually released as previously explained. It will thusbe seen that the cars may be manually or automatically uncoupled.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A car coupler comprising a housing adapted to -be mounted under a carbody longitudinally thereof and being open at its outer end and alongits bottom, a bottom closure plate for said housing, a liner restingupon the closure plate within the housing and formed near its outer endwith an upstanding boss located midway its width and integral therewith,a shackle extending longitudinally of said housing and having a shankextending into the housing through the outer end thereof and a head atthe outer end of the shank, said shank being formed with a vertical borelocated midway its width and into which said boss ts and pivotallymounts the shackle for transverse pivotal movement, a spring extendinglongitudinally in said housing inwardly of the shackle with its innerend seated in a socket formed in the inner end wall of the housing andits outer end seated in a socket in the inner end of the shank, saidspring yieldably holding the shackle against transverse tiltingmovement, a jaw having a shank and a bill, a pin passing verticallythrough the shank of said jaw and the head of said' shackle andpivotally mounting the jaw for movement transversely of the shackle, aspring about said pin yieldably holding the jaw in a normal positionwith its bill extending across the outer end of the head transverselythereof and in outwardly spaced relation thereto, said head having lipsprojecting from opposite sides of its outer end and having its outer endformed with a concaved transversely curved surface between outer ends ofthe lips, said bill having a transversely curved outer surfaceconstituting a cam surface and a flat inner surface, and a lipprojecting laterally from the outer side of the shank of said jaw and inposition for engagement by a persons nger to move the jaw to a releasingposition.

2. A car coupler comprising a housing adapted to be mounted under a carbody longitudinally thereof and being open at its outer end and alongits bottom, a -bottom closure plate for said housing, a liner restingupon the closure plate within the housing and formed near its outer endwith and upstanding boss, a shackle extending longitudinally of saidhousing and having a shank extending into the housing through the outerend thereof and a head at the outer end of the shank, said shank beingformed with a vertical bore into which said boss fits and pivotallymounts the shackle for transverse pivotal movement, a spring extendinglongitudinally in said housing with its inner end seated in a socketformed in the inner end wall of the housing and its outer end seated ina socket formed in the inner end of the shank and yieldably holding theshackle against transverse tilting movement, a jaw having a shank and abill, a pin passing vertically through the 'shank of said jaw and thehead of said shackle and pivotally mounting the jaw for movementtransversely of the shackle, a spring about said pin yieldably holdingthe jaw in a normal position with its bill extending across the outerend of the head transversely thereof, a lip projecting laterally fromthe outer side of the shank of said jaw in position for engagement by apersons finger to swing the jaw to a releasing position, a memberprojecting downwardly from said jaw, and a cam structure adapted to bemounted upon a track and movable into and out of position for engagingthe said mem- Ybers and automatically moving the jaw to the vreleasingposition.

3. A car coupler comprising a housing adapted to be mounted under a carbody longitudinally thereof and being open at its outer end, a shackleextending longitudinally of said housing through the open end thereofand pivotally mounted for transverse pivotal movement, spring meansyieldably resisting pivotal movement of the shackle,

Vsaid shackle having a head at its outer end and a jaw pivoted to thehead and tiltable transversely thereof to operative and releasedpositions, a pin projectingv downwardly from said jaw, and automaticmeans for moving the jaw to a released position including a base adaptedto be mounted upon a track between rails thereof, a strip of resilientsheet metal extending longitudinally of said base and having endportions connected with and slidable longitudinally of the supportwhereby a portion of the strip intermediate the length thereof may beshifted upwardly to a raised position, the said intermediate portion ofsaid strip being formed with an upwardly projecting cam having taperedend portions forming cam surfaces along side edge thereof engageablewith depending pins of connected couplings to move the jaws thereof toreleased positions, and means for shifting the resilient strip and itscam upwardly and holding it in an operative position.

4. A car coupler comprising a housing adapted to be mounted under a carbody and being open at its outer end, a shackle extending longitudinallyof said housing through the open end thereof and having a head at itsouter end, a jaw pivoted to said head for movement transversely tooperative and released positions, a pin projecting downwardly from saidjaw, and means for automatically effecting movement of the jaw to itsreleased position having a base adapted to be mounted longitudinally ofa track between rails thereof, a exible strip resting upon said base andhaving an upwardly projecting cam intermediate its length, said striphaving end portions slidable longitudinally of said base whereby theintermediate portion thereof carrying the cam may be flexed upwardly anddispose the cam in position for engagement by the pin of a couplercarried by a car passing over the cam and move the jaw to a releasedposition, a casing carried by and extending downwardly from said baseunder said cam and having a well at its bottom, a solenoid in saidcasing, having a spool over the well, a stem extending downwardly fromsaid cam and through the spool of said solenoid, and a core for thesolenoid connected with the lower end of said stem and normally seatedin said Well, the core being drawn upwardly when the solenoid isenergized and shifting the stem upwardly to a position in which the camis supported in its raised and operative position.

5. A car coupler comprising a housing adapted to be mounted under a carbody and being open at its outer end, a shackle extending longitudinallyof said body through the open end thereof and having a head at its outerend, a jaw pivoted to said head for movement transversely to operativeand released positions, a pin projecting downwardly from said jaw, andmeans for automatically eiTecting movement of the jaw to its releasedposition having a base adapted to be mounted longitudinally of a trackbetween rails thereof, a exible strip resting upon said base and havingan upwardly projecting cam intermediate its length, said strip havingend portions slidable longitudinally of said base whereby theintermediate portion thereof carrying the cam may be flexed upwardly anddispose the cam in position for engagement by the pin of a couplercarried by a car passing over the cam and move the jaw to a releasedposition, a solenoid mounted under said base and below said cam, a stemextending downwardly from said cam and slidable through the spool ofsaid solenoid, and a core for said solenoid disposed at the lower end ofsaid stem and being moved upwardly when the solenoid is energized toshift the stem upwardly and support the cam in its raised and operativeposition.

CLARENCE K. EDWARDS. LAWRENCE D. EDWARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,885,813 Fickeissen Nov. 1, 19321,953,676 Fredrickson Apr. 3, 1934 2,102,649 Rydin 1;. Dec. 21, 19372,184,103 Rydin Dec. 19, 1939 2,288,792 Daniels July 7, 1942 2,411,394Strayer 1 Nov. 19, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 605,283Great Britain 1 July 20, 1948

